deed
part of speech
noun (a deed, deeds); verb (deed, rare US: to transfer property)
meaning for a pupil
1) Something that someone does on purpose, especially something very good or very bad: «a good deed», «evil deeds». tree →
2) A legal document, often for owning a house or land: «the deeds to the house». tree →
3) (US, verb, formal) To give property to someone by a legal document. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and everyday life «a good deed» is a kind act, such as helping an old neighbour; heroes do «brave deeds». Scouts and Guides are encouraged to do «a good deed every day». In law and history, deeds prove who owns land. Phrases: «a good deed», «do your good deed for the day», «brave deeds», «in word and deed», «the deeds to the house», «no good deed goes unpunished».
examples
- Helping the lost child was a good deed. tree →
- The knight was famous for his brave deeds. tree →
- I've done my good deed for the day. tree →
- Grandad keeps the deeds to the house in a safe. tree →
- The villain's evil deeds were finally discovered. tree →
- Be kind in word and deed. tree →
- (US formal) He deeded the farm to his daughter. tree →
- The memory of a good deed lives. tree →
note
Countable. Old-fashioned or story-like for «action»; everyday speech uses «thing you did». Homophone trap: none, but do not confuse with «need» or «seed». «Deeds» (plural) usually means the legal papers.
In the corpora
- The suffragettes' motto was Deeds not words, and their colours were purple, white and green.
- Shouting back when told off is often about embarrassment; a later sorry or a good deed can fix it.
- Sin is turning away from God and doing wrong in thought, word or deed.
- But in very deed, as I live — and all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD —
- And I subscribed the deed, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «deed» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.